Goalscorer Munda reveals half-time message after Man United triumph | OneFootball

The young Magpies raced into a two-goal lead inside eight minutes at the Progress With Unity Stadium, with Matheos Ferreira netting his fourth goal in as many PL2 matches before Sean Neave's impressive lob doubled the visitors' advantage, the teenage forward's 14th goal of the season at U21 level.

Despite Victor Musa's header reducing the deficit for the Red Devils shortly after the restart, Newcastle's youngsters produced a resolute defensive display before Munda's stoppage-time strike sealed maximum points, securing a spot in the Professional Development League (PDL) play-offs with a game to spare.

Munda, a representative of England at under-18 level, revealed he received a half-time message from Under-21s Lead Coach Robbie Stockdale before netting his third league goal of the current campaign.

The 19-year-old midfielder told newcastleunited.com: "At half-time, Robbie did the team talk and then spoke to me, saying I had a goal in me in the second half. When the chance came along, I grabbed it with two hands!

"It's a really good result against a strong side. The lads had to dig in and, overall, put in a great performance. We started really well and finished the half very well.

"In the second half, we came out a bit slow but managed to come out with a good result which was all that mattered. On another day, we could have scored three or four in the first-half but it was still a good advantage to have.

"When you're two-nil up, it's about how you finish the game and I think the lads finished very well. The lads, defensively, were top. Man United are a good side with good players and we knew we had to dig in as a team and we did that really well in the second half."

Despite missing out on the PL2 play-off spots, Newcastle's second-string guaranteed qualification for the Professional Development League play-off spots with a game to spare.

United's youngsters conclude their league campaign on Monday 13 April when hosting Wolverhampton Wanderers at Whitley Park [kick-off 7pm BST] and Munda believes the squad can take encouragement from positive results of late, netting 16 goals in their last eight league matches.

The Cowagte-born teenager, who joined United's Academy as a nine-year-old, added: "The lads would've wanted to qualify for the PL2 knockout rounds but we've still got to finish the season strongly. There will be some good sides in the PDL and we need to go into the play-offs as if we're playing anyone.

"It's a good opportunity to end the season really positively. We've beat some decent teams recently; Man United, Aston Villa and Fulham so, on our day, we've shown we can beat anybody. It's just about keeping the right mindset and taking it game-by-game to get the best results possible."